Earndit.com is a bit of a mash-up between a social networking site and virtual trainer. It links your fitness-related check-ins on Foursquare with your gps enabled devices (like Garmin watches or the Nike iPod accessory) and rewards you points, which you can use for gift cards and the like. Run 5 miles earn 50 points. Accumulate 350 points and cash them in for a free box of ElementBars.
In addition to keeping a running tab of your points, it ranks you amongst other users and lets you compete for virtual trophies – ala the badges in Foursquare. Just in case those of us with a competitive nature needed a little more prodding.
Of course, I’m sure it comes at a small price. I would imagine that my habits and check-ins are being shared with their advertisers. But is that really a bad thing? I would much rather see an email for the latest running shoe in my inbox than the latest offering from the Oprah Book Club (no offense, Allison). Call me a sucker for the joy that is one-to-one marketing – or whatever the buzz word is these days.
It will be interesting to see if Earndit survives. It’s still fairly new (looks like it was started around a month ago) and there are a few bugs that still need to be ironed out. In the meantime, if someone is going to give me something for free, by doing what I already enjoy doing…ummmm….yes please, sign me up.
Meaningful Change – One Click at a Time
January is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts. For some of us, that might mean joining a gym to get in shape. Due
October 15, 2024
